The invention relates to a coupling mechanism for radiator to fasten the radiator to a central processing unit for absorbing thermal energy generated by the central processing unit and enabling the central processing unit to maintain normal operations.
The central processing unit (CPU) is an indispensable element in a computer system. It performs the functions of calculating, logic processing, and interpreting commands, and it controls most other elements of the computer system.
Due to rapid technological innovation and development, the processing speed of CPUs is being improved constantly. Good radiation has becomes essential to keep the CPUs operating for a long period of time without overheating, suffering performance degradation, or decreasing durability. A general practice to address this concern is to install an air fan on the CPU or mount a metal radiator (usually made from aluminum or brass) onto the heat generating surface of the CPU. The radiator is generally made from material with excellent thermal conductivity. By making the radiator in direct contact with the CPU surface, thermal energy generated by the CPU can be dissipated so the CPU can stay within a selected temperature range to function normally.
The radiator mentioned above generally is attached to the CPU. In order to securely anchor the radiator, in the past, an adhesive was employed to bond the radiator to the CPU. However, the adhesive usually has poor thermal conductivity and cannot effectively transfer heat to the radiator, so the heat dissipation effect suffers. Moreover, adhesives generally melt at high temperatures. As a result, the bonding between the radiator and the CPU cannot be maintained at high temperatures.
Besides using adhesives, there are designs that employ coupling methods to fasten the radiator and the CPU. As the coupling methods do not interfere with the surface contact between the radiator and CPU, they are more effective and desirable.
Refer to FIG. 1A for a conventional coupling method. A CPU 20 is mounted to a CPU socket 10 and has a top surface in contact with a radiator 30. The radiator 30 and the socket 10 are coupled by a latch element 40. As the radiator 30 is anchored on the top of the CPU 20 and has a bottom side in contact with the top surface of the CPU 20. Heat generated by the CPU 20 can be dissipated through the radiator 30. However, such coupling requires a slot 31 cutting through the middle section of the radiator 30 to accommodate the latch element 40 in a straddling manner. As a result, the radiation surface of the radiation fins 32 located on the radiator 32 is decreased and the radiation effect suffers.
FIG. 1B shows another conventional coupling method that is located on two sides of the CPU socket 10. The coupling method has one latch element 40 coupled to one side of the CPU socket 10 and another latch element 40 coupled to the other side of the CPU socket 10 to make the CPU 20 in contact with the radiator 30 and achieve the radiation effect. However, the two latch elements 40 often cannot provide an equal coupling force on both sides of the radiator 30. As a result, the radiator 30 cannot evenly contact the top surface of the CPU 20 to provide uniform heat dissipation (usually the contact portion between the two is on a line rather than the whole surface). Therefore the radiation effect suffers.
In view of the concerns mentioned above, it is necessary to develop a coupling method for radiator that can increase the surface area of the radiation fins and keep the bottom surface of the radiator in contact with the CPU in an even manner in order to achieve the maximum radiation effect.
The primary object of the invention is to provide a coupling mechanism for radiator to increase the surface area of radiation fins to achieve the maximum radiation effect and keep the bottom surface of the radiator in contact evenly with the CPU.
The coupling mechanism of the invention involves fastening a radiator to a heat generating element of a socket on a main board for absorbing the thermal energy generated by the heat generating element. The coupling mechanism includes a first anchor dock, a second anchor dock and a latch element. The first anchor dock is located on one end of the socket. The second dock is located on the other end of the socket opposite the first anchor dock. The latch element passes through the gap of the radiation fins of the radiator and straddles the radiator. It has one end pivotally engaging with the first anchor dock and another end selectively engaging with the second anchor dock. The latch element further has an elastic section formed in the middle portion thereof to put the radiator in close contact with the heat generating element.
When in use, first, put the radiator in contact with the heat generating element, then pivotally engage one end of the latch element with the first anchor dock. With the end of the latch element that engages with the first anchor dock serving as the axis, turn the latch element over the radiator to slip into the gap of the radiation fins on the radiator such that the latch element straddles the radiator. Then move another end of the latch element towards the second anchor dock and press the elastic section against the radiator to put the radiator in close contact with the heat generating element. Finally, fasten another end of the latch element to the second anchor dock to complete the coupling of the radiator and the heat generating element.
The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.